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Schumer, Gillibrand say it's time for Washington Redskins to change racist name

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U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., today joined 50 U.S. senators who condemned the name of the Washington Redskins football team, calling it a slur against Native Americans. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also signed the letter to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell.
(File photo John Berry / The Post-Standard)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- New York's two U.S. senators today urged the National Football League to endorse a name change for the Washington Redskins, saying the team name is a racist slur that has no place in professional sports.

U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., took their strongest public stand to date on an issue championed by Ray Halbritter, representative of the Oneida Indian Nation in Central New York.

The senators and 48 of their Democratic colleagues signed a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that encouraged him to follow the lead of the National Basketball Association in its handling of racism allegations against Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

"Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports," the senators wrote in their letter to Goodell. "Now is the time for the NFL to act. The Washington, D.C. football team is on the wrong side of history. What message does it send to punish slurs against African Americans while endorsing slurs against Native Americans?"

Among those signing the letter were some of the top Democratic leaders in the Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Only five Democratic senators did not sign the letter. The letter was not circulated among Republicans.

Halbritter's "Change the Mascot" campaign has gained momentum in the past year with other top political leaders in Washington, D.C. -- including President Barack Obama -- suggesting it's time for the football team to change its name.

Halbritter, who thanked Obama for speaking out when they met at the White House in November, is among those invited today to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for Obama's speech about increasing domestic tourism.

This morning Halbritter thanked Schumer and Gillibrand for taking their stand against the Redskins, and said they "are setting an example for the country by saying that major institutions in America have a moral obligation to be respectful of all cultures."

He added, "These New York leaders are placing themselves on the right side of history by demanding that the NFL stand up to (Redskins owner) Dan Snyder and force him to stop promoting this painful racial slur."